Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers from Beijing and Philadelphia develop a method to 3D print embryonic stem cells in highly uniform blocks.

Researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China and Drexel University in the US have developed an extrusion-based 3D printing method to produce highly uniform “blocks” of embryonic stem cells. These blocks are a grid-like 3D structure that was able to demonstrate cell viability and rapid self-renewal while maintaining high pluripotency. Lead author Wei Sun says, “It was really exciting to see that we could grow embryoid body in such a controlled manner. The grown embryoid body is uniform and homogenous, and serves as much better starting point for further tissue growth.”

Other common methods of printing stem cells are either done in 2D or with the “suspension” method, but these methods do not produce cells with the same cell uniformity and homogenous proliferation as that of the 3D method. This new method would enable researchers to perform experiments on tissue regeneration. Another author on the paper, Rui Yao, adds, “Our next step is to find out more about how we can vary the size of the embryoid body by changing the printing and structural parameters, and how the varying the embryoid body size leads to “manufacture” of different cell types.”

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Gooooood, good.

Big data will help crack the code on aging.

Two of the leading scientists at the edge of the medical revolution believe that our life expectancy could start creeping up toward the triple digits.

Continue reading “Big Data and Genetic Sequencing Will Help Extend the Human Lifespan” »

Removing metal screws or plates after an injury has healed will no longer be necessary.

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A lab in South Korea that will clone your dead dog for just $100,000.

We visited a lab in South Korea that will clone your dead dog for you.

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A one-year-old girl is in remission after receiving an experimental therapy that used genetically engineered T-cells from a donor to kill her cancer.

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We have plenty of chemicals that can kill cancer cells, but they often hit healthy ones too. The search has therefore been on for a targeted approach, that delivers a fatal payload to tumours without harming surrounding tissue.

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The human brain is a fragile and powerful tool, and is also fully dependent on a sturdy skull to keep it secure and intact. Unfortunately for some, there is a need for cranial reconstruction on people who were either born with a skull-related deficiency or critically injured in the head area. 3D printing has shown itself to be a potential game-changer in this regard; we have already witnessed successful titanium mesh skull replacements for one Chinese farmer and even a three-year-old girl born with congenital hydrocephalus. Now, researchers out of Western Australia are developing a new advanced 3D printing method that involves reconstructing the human skull from stem cell cultures.

The project, which is taking place within the Royal Perth Hospital and is being funded by the State Government, will provide their patients with damaged or surgically removed skull fragments with a high-quality cranial reconstruction surgery. The 3D printed stem cell-based skull replacement can potentially increase the success rate and the post-surgical quality of life of patients who require this intensive surgery.

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A thyroid gland printed last March by 3D Printing Solutions is now proven to be fully functional, and experts say the results will revolutionize medicine.

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